Physical Geography
The mainland portion of the Nova Scotia peninsula is attached to North America through the Isthmus of Chignecto. Various offshore islands, the largest of which is Cape Breton Island, form the bulk of the eastern part of the province.
The geological history of the province spans more than 1.2 billion years . Continental drift led to the southern half of the province's mainland portion, the Meguma terrane, once being attached to Africa whereas the Avalon terrane comprising the northern half, including Cape Breton Island, was once attached to Scandinavia and Scotland. The Meguma terrane became joined to the present North American landmass as part of the Appalachian orogeny. Composed largely of Cambrian to Ordovician sedimentary deposits, it is joined to the Avalon terrane along the Minas Fault Zone, which runs east-west from Chedabucto Bay to Cobequid Bay.
Nova Scotia has a great variety of coastal landforms. Most of the land in Nova Scotia is bedrock. As a result of erosion and transportation of unconsolidated material, landforms such as beaches and marshes are being formed. These deposits are also being eroded and/or flooded by the rising sea level.
Glaciation during the Quaternary Period had an overwhelming effect upon the landscape. Glaciers abraded and plucked at the bedrock during their advances across the country, creating various deposits that vary in thickness and form; in some places they are up to 300 meters thick.
Nova Scotia's numerous hills, several low mountain ranges (the entire province is located within the Appalachian Mountains), lush river valleys, lakes and forests, windswept barrens, and a varied sea coast ranging from extremely rugged to broad sand beaches, can be attributed to these forces.
Nova Scotia forms part of the southern shores of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and its sub-basin, the Northumberland Strait. The Cabot Strait lies north and east of Cape Breton Island. The main part of the Bay of Fundy lies off its northwestern shore, and large sub-basins including the Cumberland Basin, the Minas Basin and Cobequid Bay create major indentations into its coastline. The Gulf of Maine (of which the Bay of Fundy is a component) lies off the western shore. The South Shore and Eastern Shore, as well as the southern and eastern parts of Cape Breton Island constitute a pelagic coast, fronting the open Atlantic Ocean.
The Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia has numerous offshore fishing banks which are submerged sections of the continental shelf. Rising sea levels since glaciation have inundated many parts of the coatline, including these areas on the continental shelf, providing rich habitat for marine life, as well as defining other unique features such as various coastal islands, bays, harbours and the Bras d'Or Lake - an 1,100 square kilometres (420 sq mi) estuary that defines the central portion of Cape Breton Island.
Read more about this topic: Geography Of Nova Scotia
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